Birth
by whattadragg
Summary: Choji is out of the village when Karui goes into labor. Who will be there for her in this time of need? This is for ladykatsuyu!


**AN: In case you haven't read my fic "The Announcement" (you don't have to read it to understand this), then I'll tell you that Temari got pregnant before anyone else in the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. Then Ino was after her. Which means Karui was next haha. Just in case you were wondering. :)**

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Shikamaru was on his way home from work with the intentions of stopping by the store to pick up some more diapers when his name was called. He turned to see his best friends wife, Karui She was standing across the street and waving at him. He smiled and waved back at her.

Choji had been wanting them all to get to know Karui better. None of them had ever really spoken to her before Choji brought her home for dinner once. She just never seemed like she liked any of them. But Shikamaru had tried to push past that, considering his wife was the "Cruelest Kunoichi" and she was never the friendliest woman either. But as his father told him, every woman does have a soft side for the man she loves. Which he had also found out from years spent with Temari.

He decided before any of them had gotten married that if Karui and him had one thing in common, it was Choji. Obviously they both love Choji in different ways, but all the same he was their connection. Shikamaru had tried and tried to develop a friendship with the Kumo ninja, but she just wouldn't open up. Temari told him that if she wanted to be like that, then he should stop trying. He disagreed. Choji was his best friend and if this was the woman that he was going to spend the rest of his life with, then Shikamaru knew he had to get through to her.

He was actually kind of surprised that she had called out to him. He figured she would probably just ignore him and hope he didn't see her. Maybe the pregnancy changed her feelings about him. It definitely changed Temari's emotional state. He never wanted to do that again.

Karui was very pregnant, actually. She was the last of the trio to give birth and she looked like she could any day now. He decided to walk over to her. "Hey Karui, how are you?" He asked.

"I'm fine. Just been bored since Choji left.. I have nothing to do, so I decided to walk around town for a little bit." She sighed. He thought that she was probably bored since she didn't want to be friends with anyone, and now that her only friend was on a mission she had no one to hang out with.

"He's still gone? I figured he would be back now." Shikamaru thought it was weird for Choji to accept a mission this close to his child's birth.

"He should return by tonight." It was already evening time. Maybe he would be back soon.

"That's good to hear," He paused, not really knowing what to say. Deciding to break the awkward silence, he turned. "Well, I supposed I'll see you around. I have to buy diapers for Shikadai before Temari kills me." He waved a hand over his shoulder.

"See ya," Karui turned to leave when an intense pain shot through her body. "Ah!" Shikamaru quickly turned around to see her on the ground.

"Karui!" He rushed to her side. "What happened?"

"Baby.." Was all she said before Shikamaru had scooped her up and rushed her to the hospital.

When they made it there, Sakura led him to a room to set her on the bed. "This baby isn't wait.." She said. "We'll have to start now. Shikamaru, go get more nurses!" He nodded before leaving. Shikamaru returned quickly with back up and waited for further instructions.

"Where the hell is Choji?!" Karui yelled. Her patients were gone, not that she had much of any in the first place.

"Shikamaru, go wait by the gate for Choji!" Sakura yelled again.

"No, don't let please!" Karui pleaded. Shikamaru was slightly shocked at this. Of course, he was the closest thing she had to a friend in the village at the moment. He decided to make two clones and send one of the clone to the gate to wait for his best friend. The other to his house to let his wife know that he won't be home anytime soon.

He moved to the side of the bed where Karui grabbed his hand. _Great.. I'm going through this again._ His hand hadn't gone through this pain since Temari gave birth.

What felt like days were merely hours, and finally a baby's cry was heard. Shikamaru examined his hand. _Damn, Choji owes me big.._

Shikamaru felt out of place. Karui was holding her baby, in no need for him anymore. He decided to step out of the room. "Shikamaru!" The voice was that of the one he was hoping to hear hours ago.

"Choji?! What took you so damn long? I think my hand might be broken!" He was only slightly joking.

"I'm sorry, I had no idea the baby would come this fast. Where are they?" Shikamaru pointed his friend in the direction of the room so he could join his family.

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When Choji saw his wife lying on her bed, holding that small bundle, he couldn't contain himself. Tears flowed down his face. "I'm sorry.." Karui looked up at him, smiling softly.

"Don't apologize. We're glad you're here now," He smiled at her, wiping the tears from his eyes. "We love you."

Bending down, Choji placed a kiss on her forehead. "I love you both."

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 **AN: Okay, here is Choji's story. Ladykatsuyu inspired this one. Since you told me you like fics with team ten like this. I hope you like this one too!**

 **Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!**


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